


Sparks Beneath The Water

by BleuSarcelle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Customer Lance, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) Friendship, M/M, Magic User Keith, Magic User Lance, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), tattoo artist keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 10:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14714561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleuSarcelle/pseuds/BleuSarcelle
Summary: Keith groans pitifully. “Yes, that Lance.”“Lance Bad Pick Up Lines McClain?” Shiro asks once again, his teasing smirk growing by the second. “Lance ‘My Nipples Are Cold’ McClain?”Keith looks up just to glare at his best friend. “Are you done?”Shiro shakes his head. “What? I just want to make sure we’re talking about the same guy.” He shrugs, smiling innocently.  “This is Lance ‘That’s A Mullet’ McClain, right?”[Or the one where Keith's a tattoo artist who can put magi spells inside his tattoos. And he also has a massive crush on the cute guy with the shark tattoo over his chest.]





	Sparks Beneath The Water

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Искры под водой](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14929857) by [DreamerX2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamerX2/pseuds/DreamerX2)



> special thanks to my amazing creative friend lxie who came up with this prompt <3

Keith’s a magic hoe.

According to Shiro, but what does he knows.

“– and I will be able to breathe underwater, right?” Two O’clock Appointment asks giddily, watching in awe as Keith works on the finishing touches on his tattoo.

“For a longer period of time above average, yes – don’t move your elbow, please.” Keith answers quietly, concentrating as he presses the tattoo gun at the edge of the drawn waves on Toa’s bicep. “Can you live and have an apartment underwater? No.”

“Aw, dang it, but they’re so _cool!_ ” Toa jokes lightly and Keith’s lips twitch in amusement.

“I don’t make the rules, dude.” Keith shrugs, nodding at the finishing tattoo before he leans back and puts the gun down. “Alright, you ready?”

“Ooh, oh, uh, yes, definitely ready!” Toa exclaims excitedly but Keith doesn’t miss the nervous twitch on the guy’s eye. It reminds Keith that this is the kid’s first tattoo ever, putting aside the magic topic. He can understand the hesitation.

“Hey,” Keith calls quietly and offers a small smile when the teen shifts his gaze to meet his own.“You will barely feel it, I promise.”

“My friend said it tickled her.” Toa murmurs, eyeing Keith’s hand and then his fresh tattoo, “Will it tickle?”

Jesus Christ, kid.

“It’s different for everyone. Someone's tickle can be someone else’s lighting.”

“Oh, god, I’mma _die_.”

Jesus Christ, _Keith_.

“No, no, hey.” Keith takes a deep breath, making sure the eighteen-years-old doesn’t move around much. “Focus, kid.  Mermaid right? You wanna meet the mermaid you talked about earlier, right?”

“Merman…” Toa mumbles quietly, running a hand through his red hair in embarrassment.

Keith grins. “Right on. Just focus on that, alright? I promise you won’t even feel it.”

Toa seems calm enough with that and that’s enough for Keith to focus on his own task. He makes sure to do a quick spell on the fresh tattoo, soothing the hot skin with a cool cloth along with it.

Once he sees the skin come back to its natural shade, he puts the cloth away. He takes a deep breath and then he slowly calls his magic to the surface, familiar warmth spreading through his chest until it gather itself at the tip of his fingers.

Keith hears Toa gasp but more out of awe than of fear. Keith doesn’t break, though, eyes never leaving the small golden sparks that flicker between his fingers.

He whispers a few words under his breath and soon his magic spreads over the tattoo line art, sneaking its way under the skin to fuse with the drawing. Its movement makes it seem as if the waves themselves were moving on their own and Keith waits until they settle down and for their glow to disappear before he steps back.

“All done.” Keith says with a pleased grin.

Toa blinks in surprise before he looks down, pokes his own tattoo and squeals in excitement, blatantly ignoring Keith’s callings as he jumps off the chair. The teen proceeds to shove his own head on the fish tank near the shop’s entrance and Keith facepalm himself, feeling sorry for his fishes.

“Head out of the fish tank, please.”

 

* * *

 

His mom gave him the idea.

Keith had been five at the time; a teeny tiny wee five-years old that would get lost if you even dared to look away for even two seconds.

Solution? Putting a tracker on his ass.

Fair enough, it wasn’t really a tracker, per say, but his mom had been smart enough to put an easy magic spell on his favorite cape so that she would always be able to find him. Meaning that it was more often than not seeing a five-year old human burrito flying through the store by the cape until it found its target: Keith’s mom.

And, damn, had it work beautifully because not only did he _not_ get kidnapped ever, but he had fulfill his childhood dream of flying despite not having wings like his dad.

Win-win for everyone, honestly.

It wasn’t until he had been eighteen when he finally decided to put a twist on his magic spells. He moved from tangible and nonliving things, to flesh and breathing beings.

He started small on his own skin; a few tattoos with simple magic spells beneath them that would either help him find his keys or wallet whenever he would leave the house. Even that one time he got a squirrel tattoo and he can’t no longer go to the park because of the squirrels’ loud annoying gossip.

Shiro had been his assistant (See: Lab rat, in Shiro’s dictionary) throughout his entire experimentation. Usually, Shiro would stick to doing the tattoo on Keith’s pale skin and the teen would do the rest of the magic himself.

Until the day Keith asked him to practice on him, a non-magic being, to see if the spell would still hold and work.

It worked, of course, and now Shiro is stuck with his metal prosthetic being a flashlight whenever he turns the ‘on and off button’ tattoo on the right side of his neck.

Shiro still holds it against him.

Five years later, Keith now has an official certification to perform his art and generate an attractive income inside Shiro’s tattoo parlor because of it.

Keith’s content. He’s comfortable with his job and he enjoys doing it.

He’s currently doodling a few samples for his Four O’clock Appointment; he tries to keep them pretty basic and simple so that way they will look cleaner once they are portrayed on skin alone.

When the phone rings and he reads over the ID calling, he smiles and finds funny the coincidence.

 

* * *

 

The sound of the phone slamming down abruptly makes Shiro jump.

He places a hand over his chest for dramatics, eyes wide as he slowly turns from his chair to look behind him.

Shiro blinks in confusion as he sees his best friend frozen with a horrified expression.

“Uh.” Shiro starts slowly but quickly shuts his mouth at the wild look in Keith’s face.

“A love bond!” Keith shouts out of nowhere, throwing his arms in the air to emphasize his bewilderment. “A freaking love bond!”

Shiro eyes him in concern before he raises from his chair and heads towards the counter. He lets Keith to ramble, repeating the same words over and over again like a broken record.

The older man quietly picks up the parlor’s phone, pressing a few buttons on it before a number appears and then Shiro can understand his friend’s outburst.

“Ah, that was Lance.” Shiro snickers to himself, putting the phone down and leaning against the counter with his forearms. He flashes a grin towards Keith, his eyes high with amusement as the younger man keeps pacing around the shop.

“Yes, that was Lance!” Keith shouts from the other side of the store, near the fish tank.

“Chest Tattoo Shark Lance?” Shiro asks once again, humming when Keith nods. “Lance with brown skin and blue eyes?”

Keith groans pitifully. “Yes, that Lance.”

“Lance Bad Pick Up Lines McClain?” Shiro asks once again, his teasing smirk growing by the second. “Lance ‘My Nipples Are Cold’ McClain?”

Keith looks up just to glare at his best friend. “Are you done?”

Shiro shakes his head. “What? I just want to make sure we’re talking about the same guy.” He shrugs, smiling innocently. “This is Lance ‘That’s A Mullet’ McClain, right?”

“God, you’re the worst.”

Shiro snorts. “Alright, alright, I’m done.”

“Thank you.”

“But it is the same Lance your gay ass if pinning for, right?” Shiro asks casually and barks a laugh when Keith hits his forehead against the wall.

“At the universe, end my suffering.” Keith whines. Shiro rolls his eyes at his dramatics.

“Okay, so, it was Lance. Why’re you so work up about it?”

“He wants a love bond tattoo.” Keith says as he pushes himself off the wall and walks towards his friend, hands rubbing his face tiredly.

Shiro nods bemusedly behind the counter. “What’s so wrong about that?”

“Nothing it’s just - I, I just can’t wrap my head around it.” Keith mumbles, fingers running once more through his hair, not caring about the half-destroyed ponytail hanging low on his neck. “How, how am I supposed to pull that off?”

Shiro rolls his eyes with a smile. “Keith, you have performed love bonds spells before.”

“Well, yeah.” Keith shrugs, turning around to meet his best friend’s gaze. “But not like this. Lance wants a soulmate style bond. Those are...those are tricky, man. And _intimate_.”

Shiro snorts. “God, you look so damn flustered.”

“They are _so_ intimate.”

“You are _so_ red, almost as red as the first time you saw Lance half naked.”

“He wanted the shark on his chest, hence, no shirt! What was I supposed to do?” Keith defends himself, cheeks warming up at the memory of brown smooth skin at the tip of his fingers, breaths away from a brown nipple. Keith shakes his head and ignores Shiro’s cackling.

“Alright, alright.” Shiro says then, waving his flesh hand down slowly. “Calm down, remember you can always reject requests, Keith.”

Keith purses his lips in thought and shifts on his feet. “I, I know but…”

Shiro arches an eyebrow. “But?”

“He sounded really excited? As if the mere thought of him finding love was wild and impossible.” Keith sighs, walking towards the counter before he drops half of his body on top of it. “God, he sounded like a puppy. I can’t deny puppies.”

“Nah, you’re just a softie.” Shiro says playfully, patting his friend on the head. Keith hums quietly to the banter and it makes Shiro to frown in concern. “Are you sure that’s all it’s bothering you?”

Keith stays quiet for a few more seconds before he sighs resigned. “I, uh, I was planning on asking him out.”

Shiro gasps. “Lance? Lance ‘Loverboy’ McClain? You were going to ask your big gay ass crush out?”

“Yes, okay? I was finally going to ask him out.” Keith groans, burying his face on the wooden surface of the counter. “But now it’s not happening. He’s going to find his soulmate after this tattoo.”

Shiro purses his lips, feeling sad for his friend. “Aw, buddy, you never know. You can still ask him out.”

“Doubt it.” Keith sighs. “It’s, it’s whatever. He wasn't that good looking anyway.”

Shiro waits a second before he whistles as he steps back slowly, knowing what’s coming. “I mean, if you say so? But you did mention that you wanted to lick his nipple that one time.”

Keith’s fist misses Shiro’s body by a whole feet and it just riles him up even more.

_“Takashi!”_

 

* * *

 

“Mullet, my man!”

Okay, Keith’s ready. He had two hours to prepare for this appointment.

“I’m ready to find my soulmate!”

Oh, God. He’s not ready.

“Lance, stop being so loud.” Keith says instead, swallowing down his pining as he meets the brunet’s gaze. “And you’re late.”

Lance blatantly ignores the last part. “We’re the only ones here, dude.” He says, pursing his lips in an annoyed pout before he blinks confused and looks around. “Wait, we are? Where’s Shiro?”

“Lunch run.” Keith replies casually as he walks around the counter and tilts his head to the side. “Come on, I wanna go over the tatoo design with you before we talk about the spell.”

Lance nods and takes a dramatic bow, winking playfully at Keith on the way. Keith rolls his eyes if only to quickly turn away and hide his blush. It’s time to get over his silly dumb crush, once and for all.

“Lead the way, mullet.”

Lance’s certainly not making it easy.

 

* * *

 

“This one.”

Keith looks up at the words, dropping the tools he had been prepping on the table to meet the brunet’s face. He makes a questioning sound and leans closer, nodding in thanks when Lance turns the notebook to him and points at the chosen drawing.

“I want the compass.” Lance says, almost bouncing on his seat in excitement as he looks between the drawing and Keith.

Keith snorts as he nods. “I had a feeling you’d choose that one,” he jokes as he takes the notebook from Lance’s hands and puts it on the side. He makes a small red point at the edge of the drawing with a marker for later.

Lance narrows his eyes playfully. “What? You think you got me all figured out, mullet?”

“I mean, you have been coming here for the past two months.” Keith reminds with a smirk. “You can learn a lot of a person in that time.”

Lance taps the edge of his chin as in thought before he shrugs. “Yeah, okay, that sounds fair. I blame you for that, though.”

“What? Why me?” Keith chuckles, shaking his head in disbelief. He waves at Lance, silently telling him to lie back on the chair. The brunet does so as he continues to talk.

“You were the one who said my shark tattoo was going to take like, weeks to be done!” Lance complains, holding out his left arm for Keith to take.

Keith’s thumb caress the brown skin over Lance’s wrist gently, ignoring Lance’s complains of ‘the tickles’. “I told you, it takes a while when someone else’s magic is in the game. We had to make sure your magic wouldn’t fight mine back.”

“As if my magic would.” Lance snorts and Keith wants to ask him what that really means. Lance doesn’t give him a chance. “But, I mean, I’ve got to admit; the wait was definitely worth it.”

“Oh, yeah?” Keith asks, eyes never leaving his task as he rubs a prepared wet cotton over Lance’s skin. “Do tell.”

Lance does. Keith listens in silence as Lance rambles about his adventures from the last weeks, narrating from the first time he tried out his tattoo under water, how it has felt so weird to have a bubble around his head, always on the edge thinking it would pop at any given time.

To the time he got to save a small guppy from a mutant eel, his legs not being as fast as a merman but still being fast enough to get the lost guppy home with their family safe and sound.

“The mer-family had me over for dinner!” Lance says, waving his free hand in the air as Keith works on his wrist. “Florona and Plaxum were super nice and their small guppy, Ales, was adorable. I wanted to knit him a sweater, honestly.”

“Sounds like you have been busy, huh?” Keith chuckles as he guides the tattoo gun carefully around the drawn lines on Lance’s skin. “Turning into a hero and all that.”

Lance snorts but rubs the back of his head sheepishly, looking away with a blush. “Nah, not really. I was just, you know, being…”

“Lance.” Keith cuts in, pausing his work to look up at the brunet and smiles. “You were just being Lance.”

Lance blinks and quickly looks away, a small shy smile on his lips as the flush on his cheeks grow. Keith stares at the sight for a second longer, memorizing it deep inside his head before he goes back to work.

“I mean, it was...it was really awesome, I will give you that.” Lance says quietly before he brightens up. “Oh, Plaxum even gave me a kiss! On the cheek and as a thank you. Merfolk have the best rewards, man, I’m telling you.”

 _‘God, I wish that had been me.’_ Keith thinks but shakes his head to get rid of the thought.

“You must have been bumped out when you found out about her mate.” Keith says distractedly as he moves the tattoo gun down, finally closing the arrow head in the tattoo.

“Uh, no. Not really.” Lance replies quietly. “It’s uh, it’s actually the reason why I’m getting this.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asks curiously, eyes sneaking a glance towards the brunet before he looks back down at the tattoo.

“I mean, it just made me think ‘I want that’,” Lance says, “I want that person, the one who I can share past adventures and live the future ones by their side. I, I want find them and just, love them I guess? Get to know them and fall in love with them.”

Keith slowly pauses his work, pushing the gun away so he can lift his head and meet Lance’s gaze. He blinks, heart hammering hard against his chest when he sees the longing and hope in those blue eyes.

“You will find them.” Keith offers softly, pushing down his own feelings for Lance’s sake. “With this tattoo? No doubt.”

Lance smiles gratefully at him and Keith quietly goes back to his task. The background music makes it up for the lack of conversation between them but it’s a comfortable silence that sets them both at ease.

Keith smiles to himself as he faintly hears the gentle humming coming from Lance. He follows the song’s melody the rest of the way until he’s done with the tattoo.

“Alright, easy part done.” Keith says proudly as he steps back and puts away the gun. “Give it a look?”

Lance does and Keith’s chest feels warm when the brunet gasps. He has to slap Lance on the leg when his fingers started to hover a little too close to the fresh tattoo.

“Ah, ah.” Keith says, shaking his head. “You know the drill, dude.”

Lance huffs and rolls his eyes, no heat behind the actions as his grin grows on his lips. Keith pats him on the leg playfully before he grabs a wet cloth and carefully press it against the red patch of skin on Lance’s wrist.

He mumbles a quick apology when Lance hisses at the sensation and then chants a quick spell, letting his magic to sooth the pain through the cool cloth.

Keith repeats the spell two more times before he’s satisfied and pulls away. He looks the tattoo over, searching for any sign of pain from Lance’s part but nothing comes.

“You know, no matter how many times I see it, your magic still blows me away.” Lance mumbles quietly, chuckling softly as his fingers get free pass to caress his new tattoo, tracing the lines of the simple compass without rush. Keith notices he’s particularly fond of retracing the arrowhead, currently pointing up at Lance.

He flushes at the praise, though, once they click inside his mind and ducks his head in embarrassment right after. “Ah, thanks, but they’re just a few tricks I have learnt on the way. Nothing wow.”

“I think it’s wow.” Lance shrugs, flashing him a bright grin. “Super wow.”

Keith laughs. “Alright, alright, you better save that ‘wow’ for the next part.” He says, removing his gloves entirely and disposing of them. “Let me wash my hand and then we’ll get started, alright?”

Lance nods, humming as he looks down at his tattoo once more. Keith takes the opportunity to stand up from his seat and head towards the sink on the other corner of the room.

He takes a deep breath as he turns the tap on, hoping it would be enough to keep his feelings at bay. Keith knows what love bonds are based on, especially the soul kind.

Soul bonds are not that hard to perform, but it takes a great deal of trust between the two parties for it to work. Non-magic beings have it easier, for their lack of magic gives the performer an open path to set the adequate energy in their veins without much of a fight.

They sometimes get stomach aches or even diarrhea but those are side effects for them not being used to that kind of energy. Keith feels a little sorry for them for said fact.

But fellow magic beings? Those are tricky. It doesn’t really matter if the two parties have the same type or magic or not, both energies will clash at first touch.

That’s where the trust topic comes up.

Keith sneaks a glance behind his shoulder, catching Lance’s figure by the corner of the eye. The brunet is still where he left him, sitting calmly on his chair with his thumb rubbing over the tattoo over and over again.

The soft smile on Lance’s lips makes his heart to skip a beat but he forces himself to slow it down. This is for Lance. That's all he needs to think about.

“All ready here.” Keith says, closing the tap as he turns. He flops himself on his seat once again and rubs his hands before he looks up. “Are you?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You know what to expect, right?” Keith asks quietly, biting down his lower lip.

Lance doesn’t hesitate to answer as he nods. “I trust you, Keith.”

That’s all Keith needs to know.

“Alright.” Keith whispers before he takes a deep breath and then slowly presses his hand down, covering the entire tattoo.

Oh, boy. He’s sweating already.

 _‘Like a band aid.’_ Keith thinks as if to comfort himself as he closes his eyes. It works, to an extend, because it doesn’t take him long before small warm spark start leaving his finger tips, slowly but surely sneaking their way beneath Lance’s skin as if they knew the way already.

Keith waits for the inevitable as he quietly chants the spell, making small pauses in between for each magic burst to settle inside Lance. Then, his magic hits its target and suddenly there’s no air in his lungs.

He sees water of all kinds behind his eyelids. He sees the ocean, lakes and the calming water underneath caves that hold magic of their own.

Then the rain comes. Keith sucks in a breath at the sensation, bemused for a moment as he takes in the feeling of cool raindrops falling on his forearms and resist the urge to open his eyes just to see for himself if they were real.

His magic had never shifted this way before; the way it seems to mix with Lance’s own, allowing him to feel the fusion physically. It sends a shiver down his spine at the raw emotion their magic seems to vibrate with.

“Wow.” Lance whispers quietly, undeniably feeling their magic, but Keith holds his breath. He swallows shakily as he mumbles the last few words and then slowly slides his hand off Lance’s wrist.

He’s barely able to catch the faint purple glow covering the tattoo before it fades into Lance’s skin.

“All done.” Keith mumbles, letting out a quiet shuddering breath before he nods to himself. He looks up, meeting Lance’s stunned face with a small smile. “You good?”

Lance opens his mouth and closes it right after. Keith blinks in amusement as the brunet repeats the action a few more times.

“Uh, Lance?” Keith asks, now getting concern at the lack of response. It seems to do the trick before Lance chokes on his own spit out of surprise.

“So, uh, so basically the arrow will move right?” Keith nods as he brushes his hair out of his face and looks away, hoping to dismiss the flush that spreads over his cheeks.

“Uh, yeah, that’s basically it.” Keith says as he hastily stands up and starts picking up the tools, turning around and heading towards the sanitary corner where he drops them. “The arrow will move and guide you through until you find your reciprocate soulmate.”

“Uh, Keith?”

“I mean, it won’t move all the time, only when your soulmate is near you. Say, around ten feet apart kind of near.” Keith continues, shrugging his shoulders as he moves around the room.

He didn’t even need to pick that towel from the small table but he sure as hell did, just for the sake of not meeting Lance’s eyes.

“Um, Keith.”

“I’m not sure how the tattoo will change once you do find them, but guess that’s half the fun.” Keith forces a chuckle, heading towards the corner of the room to pick up a new set of tools for the next appointment. “Pretty sure your soulmate has to touch the tattoo for the magic to deactivate, so to say. That much I know.”

“Keith, please stop moving.”

“What?” Keith blinks, stopping on his tracks at the words. He frowns and turns around to meet Lance, an annoyed reply at the tip of his tongue that quickly dies when he sees Lance’s wide eyes looking at him from his chair.

“It moves.” Lance whispers, eyes never leaving Keith’s own. Keith furrows his eyebrows in confusion before he follows Lance’s pointing and his breath hitches when he catches the sight of the drawn arrow on Lance’s skin pointing straight at him.

“Uh.” Keith says dumbly before he slowly moves to his right, eyes widening when the arrow follows him easily. “ _Oh._ ”

“Oh.” Lance echoes, watching in awe as the arrow rest happily on Keith.

Keith tilts his head to the side before he jumps to the left. The arrow follows him quickly and Keith feels a small smile growing on his lips.

He takes another jump, this time wider than the last one and he laughs when the arrows settles down on him once again. Keith jumps two more times just to make sure and snickers when the arrow doesn’t miss a beat.

Lance’s laughing loudly by now, his left arm extended for his wrist to be in display while he uses his right hand to cover his face. “Oh, God. Stop, stop, that’s... _hah_ , stop, we get it.”

Keith laughs with him, eyes bright as he looks up and beams at Lance. The brunet copies his expression with a wide grin. Keith’s happy to notice the right dimple that comes with it.

“That was fast.” Lance mumbles as he strokes the tattoo with his thumb. “And you look...oddly happy.”

Keith laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, I just, this is - ! This _is…_ ”

“Mind blowing?” Lance suggests and snickers when Keith waves his hand in the air as reply, silently saying ‘more or less’ with a single move. “Tell me about it.”

Keith hums, shifting nervously on his feet before he steps forward and re-takes his seat next to Lance’s chair.

He slowly takes Lance’s hand on his own, moving it side to side, heart pounding inside him when the arrow swings with the movement.

Keith hums, eyeing the tattoo with a newfound interest before he meets Lance’s eyes. “Wanna find out together what happens next?”

Lance swallow but smiles shyly at Keith, nodding softly. Keith smiles back before he raises his free hand and gently strokes the tattoo on the beautiful brown skin.

They both gasp quietly at the sight of a gentle red glowing spreading over the small blank spaces inside the compass. He has a _chance_.

“Go out with me?” Keith blurts out then, his grip around Lance’s wrist tightening the slightest as he swallows, waiting for an answer.

Lance blinks in surprise before his face splits into a wide grin.

That’s answer enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Here’s my tumblr, just in case: [bleusarcelle](http://bleusarcelle.tumblr.com)  
> AND my writing tumblr for small drabbles I don't post here: [bleusarcellewrites](http://bleusarcellewrites.tumblr.com)


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